FEMA launches #WinterReady campaign to help most vulnerable be prepared during freezing temps
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has launched a #WinterReady campaign to help those be prepared ahead of freezing temperatures -- especially people with disabilities and older adults who are often left without assistance.
Evacuees live nomadic life after Maui wildfire as housing shortage intensifies and tourists return
Thousands of people displaced by the deadliest U.S. wildfire in over a century are facing uncertainty as they try to find housing in an expensive housing market thatโs also in high demand as a vacation spot.
Biden says Norfolk Southern must be held accountable for Ohio derailment but won't declare disaster
President Joe Biden ordered federal agencies to hold Norfolk Southern accountable for its February derailment in eastern Ohio and appoint a FEMA official to oversee East Palestine's recovery, but he stopped short of declaring a disaster.
FEMA has paid out more than $5.6 million to Maui survivors, a figure expected to grow significantly
The Federal Emergency Management Agency said Friday it has approved more than $5.6 million in assistance to nearly 2,000 households in Maui so far as the federal government tries to help survivors of the devastating wildfires.
FEMA vaccination sites to close as California ramps up shots
Officials said Friday, March 26, 2021, that the vaccine sites have provided nearly a half-million doses so far. The two sites in Oakland and Los Angeles opened in February for an eight-week pilot program that concludes on April 11. AdOfficials in the county and city of Los Angeles are in discussions about maintaining the site in some fashion, said Dr. Paul Simon, the chief science officer for Los Angeles County. โCaliforniaโs commitment to equity is much more than just two vaccination sites," she said. It was updated on March 27, 2021 to correct that vaccination sites will close April 11, not April 15.
Child border crossings surging, straining US facilities
FILE - In this Aug. 23, 2019 file photo, immigrants seeking asylum walk at the ICE South Texas Family Residential Center, in Dilley, Texas. The number of children crossing by themselves, mostly from Central America, appears to be surging in particular in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas. AdThe total of 561 unaccompanied minors from Monday offers a snapshot of how quickly conditions have changed along the border. โTheyโre all coming across the border, theyโre coming fast, and theyโre wearing Biden T-shirts,โ said the Oklahoma Republican. The Biden administration last week ended a Trump policy that made relatives reluctant to contact HHS to retrieve children for fear of being deported themselves.
FEMA to help manage unaccompanied minors at US-Mexico border
FILE - In this Thursday, May 2, 2019 file photo, Border Patrol agents hold a news conference prior to a media tour of a new U.S. Customs and Border Protection temporary facility near the Donna International Bridge in Donna, Texas. President Joe Bidens administration is refusing to allow lawyers who inspect facilities where immigrant children are detained to enter a Border Patrol tent in Texas where agents are holding hundreds of youths. โ The Biden administration is turning to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for help managing and caring for record numbers of unaccompanied immigrant children who are streaming into the United States by illegally crossing the border with Mexico. During an record influx of unaccompanied minors in 2014, the Obama administration also turned to FEMA for help coordinating the governmentwide response. AdPresident Joe Biden has ended the Trump-era practice of expelling immigrant children who cross the border alone, but maintained expulsions of immigrant families and single adults.
FEMA to help manage unaccompanied minors at US-Mexico border
FILE - In this Monday, March 1, 2021 file photo, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington. The Biden administration is turning to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for help managing and caring for record numbers of unaccompanied immigrant children who are streaming into the U.S. from Mexico. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas says FEMA will support a government-wide effort over the next three months, Saturday, March 13, 2021. โ The Biden administration is turning to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for help managing and caring for record numbers of unaccompanied immigrant children who are streaming into the United States by illegally crossing the border with Mexico. During an record influx of unaccompanied minors in 2014, the Obama administration also turned to FEMA for help coordinating the governmentwide response.
Hereโs how Texans can apply for federal help to recover from the devastating winter storm
Texans in certain counties whose property was damaged by this monthโs deadly winter storm can apply for federal assistance for things not covered by insurance. That is in addition to the 77 counties President Joe Bidenโs administration included in a major disaster declaration this weekend. Texans without insurance in counties under Bidenโs major disaster declaration can go ahead and apply for federal aid. AdEarl Armstrong, a FEMA spokesperson, said that eligible Texans should file their insurance claim first then shortly after apply for disaster assistance. You can also visit a FEMA Disaster Recovery Center in person by looking for the nearest location here.
NRG Park named a FEMA COVID-19 vaccination super site; Hereโs what you need to know
Vehicles wait at a drive-thru vaccine clinic held at NRG Park in Houston on Jan. 15, 2021. HOUSTON โ Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said Friday that a Federal Emergency Management Agency COVID-19 vaccination super site will open Tuesday at NRG Park. Read more about vaccination super sites. Hidalgo said in a tweet that the site will vaccinate 42,000 people a week for three weeks. People will be selected from the Harris County waitlist and the City of Houstonโs waitlist.
President Joe Biden says he'll visit Texas soon and sign a major disaster order after a winter storm hammered the state
Credit: REUTERSREUTERS/Kevin LamarquePresident Joe Biden said Friday that heโll sign a major disaster declaration for Texas after millions in the state suffered power outages and water disruptions during prolonged freezing temperatures. A major disaster declaration is distinct from an emergency declaration. It essentially provides a wider range of assistance through โfederal assistance programs for individuals and public infrastructure.โAd"Iโm going to sign that declaration once itโs in front of me,โ he said Friday. Eight Texas Democrats penned a letter to Biden Thursday urging him to sign the major disaster declaration for the state. โAs the conditions continue, federal assistance from FEMA will be vital in ensuring that communities are able to repair damage and undertake crucial mitigation work,โ the letter said.
FEMA warns of scammers using fake phone number for disaster relief
HOUSTON โ The Federal Emergency Management Agency said on social media Thursday that a false phone number is being used to scam people seeking help amid the winter weather disaster in Texas. FEMA said the best information will come from local officials and the Texas Division of Emergency Management. KPRC 2 has looked into this number and learned the number is to the IT department of FEMA, and helps people reset log in information. Screenshot of an image circulating on social media on Feb. 18, 2021. No links for payment or claim information related to this Texas disaster has been updated.
Crippling storm hampers vaccinations as FEMA opens new sites
Members of the National Guard help motorists check in at a federally-run COVID-19 vaccination site set up on the campus of California State University of Los Angeles in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021. FEMA opened its first COVID-19 inoculation sites in Los Angeles and Oakland, part of a broader effort by the Biden administration to get shots into arms more quickly and reach minority communities hit hard by the outbreak. In snowy Chicago, Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said more than a hundred city vaccine sites didnโt get shipments Tuesday because of the extreme weather, leading to many cancellations. The Los Angeles site is โproximate to a community that has been disproportionately impacted by this pandemic,โ Gov. โThe effort here is to address that issue forthrightly.โThe Biden administration plans to establish 100 federally assisted vaccination sites nationwide in cooperation with state authorities.
5 things for Houstonians to know for Thursday, Feb. 11
Here are things to know for Thursday, Feb. 11:1. Between them, the Texas sites will offer 10,000 vaccine doses per day, seven days per week, for the foreseeable future. Texas Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee said the Houston site will get 6,000 doses per day in addition to the weekly state allotment. The Houston site is expected to being vaccinations on Wednesday, February 24th, representatives for the Governorโs and Leeโs office said. For CVS Pharmacy locations that will begin to offer COVID-19 vaccinations on Feb. 12, appointments were supposed to become available for booking as early as Feb. 9 as stores receive shipments of the vaccine.
Houston one of five U.S. cities chosen as FEMA โsuperโ vaccination sites
Between them, the Texas sites will offer 10,000 vaccine doses per day, seven days per week, for the foreseeable future. Texas Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee said the Houston site will get 6,000 doses per day in addition to the weekly state allotment. The โsuper sitesโ in Houston, Arlington, Dallas and two others in New York are part of a FEMA pilot program to vaccinate vulnerable populations throughout the country. Lee and the governor also said the pilot program may expand to other vaccination sites in neighborhoods throughout Greater Houston in the coming weeks and months. โFEMA now has a large role in ensuring mass vaccinations and mass immunity across the nation,โ Jackson Lee said.
3 FEMA-run vaccination sites aimed at underserved Texans to open later this month, Abbott says
People waited for hours to receive their drive-thru COVID-19 vaccine at the Fair Park vaccination site in Dallas on Feb. 8. (Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune)(AP) โ Three federally-run mass vaccination sites aimed at underserved communities are expected to open before the end of the month in Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth, Gov. "Thank you to our partners at FEMA for working with the State of Texas to establish these vaccination sites and help us protect our most vulnerable." More than 2.5 million Texans have received the first dose of either the Pfizer or the Moderna vaccine, which requires two doses. Some 39,000 Texans have died from the virus, which has infected more than 2 million in the state.
The Latest: Anchorage opens up after COVID-19 drop, vaccines
Plastic surgeon Daniel Suver receives the Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine from Andrea Castelblanco during a vaccine clinic on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020, at Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage, Alaska. Anchorage is averaging about 60 new COVID-19 cases a day, said Dr. Janet Johnston, the epidemiologist for the Anchorage Health Department. More than 90 million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine will be produced in Japan. Ad___SACRAMENTO -- California reported its second-highest number of COVID-19 deaths โ while the rates of new coronavirus infections and hospitalizations continue to drop. ___ALBANY, N.Y. โ New York may have undercounted COVID-19 deaths among nursing home residents by thousands.
The Latest: UK reports lowest daily new virus cases in weeks
State health officials Monday reported fewer than 13,000 people were being treated for the virus in Texas hospitals, marking the seventh consecutive day of declining patient loads. Some hospitals and clinics have reported having to cancel immunization appointments because they didnโt have enough vaccine doses to distribute. A little more than half of Ochsner employees have yet to get the vaccine, officials said at a news conference Monday. Health officials are also worried about variants that were first reported in the United Kingdom and South Africa. The Democratic governor says Nevada officials were told vaccine doses would be administered to the states based on population.
President Biden signs burst of virus orders, requires masks for travel
President Joe Biden speaks about the coronavirus in the State Dinning Room of the White House, Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021, in Washington. โWe didnโt get into this mess overnight, and it will take months to turn this around,โ Biden said at the White House. A key difference is that under Biden, the federal government is assuming full responsibility for the COVID response. The U.S. mask order for travel implemented by Biden applies to airports and planes, ships, intercity buses, trains and public transportation. Biden is seeking to expand testing and vaccine availability, with the goal of 100 million shots in his first 100 days in office.
Biden puts forth virus strategy, requires mask use to travel
But Biden officials say they're hampered by lack of cooperation from the Trump administration during the transition. AdThe U.S. mask order for travel being implemented by Biden will apply to airports and planes, ships, intercity buses, trains and public transportation. The Biden plan estimates that a national vaccination strategy with expanded testing requires $160 billion, and he wants another $170 billion to aid the reopening of schools and universities. As part of his COVID-19 strategy, Biden will order the establishment of a COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force to ensure that minority and underserved communities are not left out of the government's response. Biden is ordering FEMA to reimburse states for the full cost of using their National Guards to set up vaccination centers.
Watch out LA: Feds calculate riskiest, safest places in US
FILE - In this Monday, June 20, 2016 file photo, smoke from wildfires burning in Angeles National Forest fills the sky behind the Los Angeles skyline. And of the more than 3,000 counties, Los Angeles County has the highest ranking in theNational Risk Index. Chiu)Spending her life in Los Angeles, Morgan Andersen knows natural disasters all too well. And of the more than 3,000 counties, Los Angeles County has the highest ranking in the National Risk Index. The way FEMA calculates the index spotlights places long known as danger spots, like Los Angeles, but some other places highlighted run counter to what most people would think.
Survey finds race- and sex-based harassment 'common' at FEMA
The survey by the RAND Corp. found that such civil rights violations were โcommonโ at FEMA, reported by about 29% of the employees surveyed last year. It found that 20% of FEMA employees reported harassment and discrimination on the basis of sex. A little more than 18% reported violations based on their race or ethnicity. That earlier survey found 24% of women in the military experienced sexual harassment, slightly higher than what was found for women at FEMA. Coreen Farris, the lead author of RANDโs report on FEMA, said the results will provide a baseline for a follow-up survey planned for this spring.
Trump changes course, approves California relief for 6 fires
โJust got off the phone with President Trump who has approved our Major Disaster Declaration request. White House spokesman Judd Deere previously said Californiaโs disaster declaration request โwas not supported by the relevant dataโ needed for approval. Newsom asked for the major disaster declaration on Sept. 28 to cover fires in Fresno, Los Angeles, Madera, Mendocino, San Bernardino, San Diego and Siskiyou counties. The White House said Trump quickly approved wildfire relief that was supported by damage estimates. PG&E equipment is being examined in connection with the Zogg Fire in Northern California, and Southern California Edison equipment is under scrutiny in the Bobcat Fire near Los Angeles.
Unemployed Texans will no longer receive an extra $300 in weekly payments
State officials on Wednesday announced that an extra $300 in weekly federal unemployment benefits will stop. Texans receiving unemployment benefits who qualified for an extra $300 in weekly jobless payments issued by the Trump administration will no longer receive the additional funds after claims from last week are paid, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. In August, President Donald Trump had announced the extra weekly payments after an additional $600 weekly payment approved by Congress to help offset losses tied to the pandemic expired in July. After news of the additional funding was made, the workforce commission said over 347,000 Texans currently receiving unemployment benefits would not qualify for the additional $300 weekly payment as of Aug. 24. Others did not qualify because they were receiving less than $100 in weekly unemployment benefits.
FEMA ends extra $300 unemployment benefit for Texans this week. Hereโs why
HOUSTON โ The Federal Emergency Management Agency ended the Lost Wages Assistance (LWA) program, which provided an additional $300 a week to qualified unemployment recipients impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, according to a press release. FEMA previously approved TWC funding requests for the benefits weeks between Aug. 1 to Sept. 5. Recipients will continue to receive normal weekly benefit amounts for any benefit weeks for which they are eligible. The Lost Wages Assistance Program was a temporary provision established after the expiration of the $600 Federal Pandemic Assistance Program, a part of the CARES Act. For more information on eligibility requirements, available benefits and questions about the unemployment process, visit TWCโs COVID-19 FAQ page.
Hurricane Laura further strains FEMA in disaster-filled year
The federal disaster agency has a major role in hurricane response, working with state and local authorities to prepare beforehand and clean-up and rebuild in the aftermath. I think even in a normal hurricane season, a traditional hurricane season, its complicated enough," Gaynor said on ABC's Good Morning America" on Thursday. FEMA, in a written response to questions about the fund, said the executive order includes a provision that ensures the disaster fund won't drop below $25 billion. FEMA has sufficient resources to handle the ongoing response to Hurricane Laura as well as delivering other assistance that has been authorized and directed by the president," Bibo told reporters. With a hurricane season that runs through Nov. 30 and fires still blazing in California, it may get worse.
Texas will apply for federal program to get extra $300 per week for unemployed Texans
More than 10 states โ not including Texas โ have already been federally approved for additional jobless relief, providing an extra $300 or $400 in unemployment checks. Greg Abbott said he was directing the state employment agency to apply for the federal funding. Once approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the money will provide an extra $300 weekly for jobless Texans, and another $100 on top of that if Texas decides to chip in. The directive from Abbott comes as 61,416 Texans applied for unemployment relief in the week ending Aug. 15. In total, more than 3.2 million Texans have applied for jobless assistance since the coronavirus pandemic began.
FEMA approves Federal Emergency Declaration following Hurricane Hanna landfall in Texas, Abbott says
Greg Abbott announced Sunday that the Federal Emergency Declaration in response to Hurricane Hanna has been approved. The authorization from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Trump administration provides emergency protective measures, limited to direct federal assistance and reimbursement mass care, including evacuation and shelter support at 75 percent federal funding. Hanna intensified to a Category 1 hurricane early Saturday morning, becoming the first hurricane of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season. โI thank President Trump and our partners at FEMA for their quick response in granting this Federal Emergency Declaration,โ said Abbott. โWe will continue to work with our federal and local partners as we assess the damage from Hurricane Hanna and may seek additional federal assistance as we continue to respond, recover, and rebuild our communities.
FEMA cancels $55 million contract for N95 masks
A FEMA official told CNN that FEMA reviewed the company, which is not a manufacturer, and believed it would be able to fulfill the contract. But when Panthera requested another delivery extension of 96 hours on May 11, FEMA denied the extension and canceled the contract. "In this case, FEMA awarded a $55 million contract to a company for 10 million masks that it did not deliver by the initial May 1 deadline or extended deadline of May 11. The health and safety of our first responders depends on obtaining a sufficient quantity of these essential N95 masks and other personal protective equipment." Since the coronavirus pandemic started, thereโs been a global shortage of supplies โ including N95 masks, gloves, surgical masks and disposable gowns โ that would protect front-line and essential workers from the virus.
Tracking coronavirus: Timeline from the first case, the Rodeo cancelation to reopening Texas
Greg Abbott issued a public health disaster declaration, a move the state has not done in nearly 120 years. March 24Harris County, Houston could extend โstay home, work safeโ order Tuesday, judge saysHarris County and Houston officials issue a stay-home-work-safe order on March 24. April 3At 2,029, Houston-area coronavirus cases account for 38% of all cases in Texas on April 3. The protest, similar to others taking place across the country, highlighted the growing tension between personal liberty and public health in a time of national crisis. April 30Nearly two months after the first case was confirmed, the total number of COVID-19 cases in the Houston-area crosses 10,000.
FEMA provides a 120-day grace period for National Flood Insurance Program
HOUSTON โ The Federal Emergency Management Agency is extending the grace period to renew flood insurance policies from 30 to 120 days. This move is to provide relief to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) customers who may be experiencing financial hardships during the coronavirus pandemic. The extension applies to flood insurance policies with an expiration date between February 13 to June 15. Typically, customers have a 30-day grace period to renew policies. We hope this extension will give policyholders some peace of mind and allow them extra time to renew their policies to ensure they are covered should a flood loss occur.โTo renew flood insurance policies or resolve an underpayment, policyholders can contact their insurance carriers or call the National Flood Insurance Program Call Center at (877)336-2627.
Kingwood HS gets $25M FEMA grant to rebuild 2 years after being gutted in Hurricane Harvey
Humble Independent School District will receive the $25,401,611.75 grant to rebuild the structure that was originally built in 1978. Kingwood High School was closed for seven months following the hurricane with Kingwoodโs 2,782 students commuting 30 minutes away to Summer Creek during that time. Kingwood High School was reopened in March 2018. Damage at Kingwood High SchoolThe building remained flooded for 11 days during and after Harvey, FEMA officials wrote in the grant summary. Floodwaters were 5.5 feet deep in the front of the building and 1.5 feet deep in the back.